Archive for the 'Nickell Robey' Tag Under 'USC' Category

Four USC players who were not selected in the NFL Draft quickly signed as free agents in the hours after the draft.

Cornerback Nickell Robey signed with the Buffalo Bills, safety Jawanza Starling signed with the Houston Texans, defensive end Wes Horton signed with the Carolina Panthers and tailback Curtis McNeal signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Also, former USC safety Drew McAllister posted on Twitter that he had upcoming rookie-camp opportunities with the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks.

The biggest USC disappointment would have to be Robey, who announced in January that he would skip his senior season in order to declare for the draft. NFL teams, collectively, took 30 cornerbacks, but not Robey.

The NFL Draft, the annual grin-and-handshake festival, starts Thursday night in New York, and the fate of former USC quarterback Matt Barkley will be on the of the more-intriguing subplots.

The first round starts at 5 p.m. Thursday and will be on ESPN and NFL Network. Friday’s coverage (second and third rounds) starts at 3:30 p.m. on NFL Network. Saturday’s coverage (rounds four through seven) starts at 9 a.m. on ESPN and NFL Network.

The Register's Michael Lev has a great analysis piece on Barkley -- click here -- heading into the draft.

Draft pundits seemed to be mixed on Barkley, with some viewing him as a first-round pick and others as a second-round pick. The quarterback pool, in general, is considered a bit unstable. Former USC receiver Robert Woods seems locked into somewhere in the middle of the second round.

The official NFL Draft website has some interesting information on each of the seven players who are possible draft picks. According to the rating system, none of USC’s players are graded as ``future Hall of Famer’’ or ``immediate starter.’’ Woods, Barkley and Khaled Holmes are graded at the ``eventual starter’’ level (second or third round) while T.J. McDonald, Nickell Robey, Wes Horton and Jawanza Starling are graded at the ``draftable player’’ level (fourth through seventh rounds).

New USC defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast’s scheme calls for a lot of pressure up front, from linemen, linebackers and even safeties. That means more single coverage for cornerbacks.

And that’s what makes Coach Lane Kiffin nervous these days.

USC’s offense put on an impressive show during Saturday’s scrimmage at the Coliseum. The three quarterbacks, combined, completed 32 of 45 attempts for 405 yards and five touchdowns. The flip side, of course, is that those numbers came against USC’s hobbled, struggling secondary.

``We're giving up too many explosive plays on defense, especially in the passing game,’’ Kiffin said.

With both of last season’s corners gone -- Nickell Robey left early for the NFL and Josh Shaw moved back to safety -- it’s been a casting call this spring, and the director isn’t pleased.

The shakeup on USC's defensive coaching staff continued Thursday with the firing of secondary coach Marvin Sanders, who spent less than a year on the staff.

Clancy Pendergast, hired last week as USC's new defensive coordinator, will also serve as the position coach for the defensive backs in 2013, Coach Lane Kiffin said in a statement. Pendergast has not been available for comment since his hiring.

Kiffin's statement read, ''We wish Marvin Sanders and his family the best of luck. Marvin did a great job for us coaching our secondary and in recruiting. But with the hiring of Clancy Pendergast as our defensive coordinator, we decided to go in a different direction based on Clancy's desire to oversee the defensive backs unit.''

Sanders, 45, joined USC's staff last February after a three-season run as secondary coach at Nebraska. In 2012, USC ranked fifth in the Pac-12 Conference in pass defense and allowed an average of 236.6 passing yards per game. In 2011, the Trojans ranked eighth in the conference in pass defense (276.0 yards per game).

USC might have the potential to hire two assistant coaches. USC linebackers coach Scottie Hazelton will reportedly become defensive coordinator at Nevada when new Coach Brian Polian announces his full staff. Kiffin, under some criticism to relinquish play-calling duties, now has the room on staff to hire another offensive assistant, if he desires.

USC cornerback Nickell Robey said he remains undecided as to whether he will return to USC for his senior season or declare for the NFL Draft. Robey must make a decision by Jan. 15.

‘'I really don't know yet,'' Robey said. ‘'I've just got to wait until after this game and discuss it with people.''

Robey has at least one more challenge at USC, trying to stop Georgia Tech's ‘'flexbone'' option, run-heavy offense. USC coach Lane Kiffin has compared Georgia Tech to Oregon, in terms of how the teams run a small package of plays, but Robey pointed out at least one big difference.

‘'The quality of athletes is way different,'' Robey said. ‘'I feel like Oregon is way different and way (more) talented than Georgia Tech.''

At the same time, Robey praised the Yellow Jackets, whom he said run a basic package of ‘'eight good plays, and then run them very efficiently.''

USC practice is underway in El Paso, in preparation for Monday's Sun Bowl game against Georgia Tech. Media members were allowed to watch the start of practice without any restrictions on reporting, so here are a couple items of note...

-- Matt Barkley attended practice (photo above), but wore only a jersey top and sweatpants, without helmet or pads. Barkley did not throw with the rest of the quarterbacks and did conditioning drills as practice began. Barkley has not practiced since he suffered a sprained shoulder Nov. 17 against UCLA. USC had hoped Barkley might be able to start practicing today, but his non-activity makes it rather unlikely that he will be able to play in the Sun Bowl.

-- Players were allowed to travel on their own to El Paso, post-Christmas. Gerald Bowman and Anthony Sarao didn't make it for practice but are scheduled to get into town tonight. Xavier Grimble and Nickell Robey arrived at the practice field on their own, after the team arrived on buses.

-- USC is practicing on artificial turf, on a field used by several local high schools. Sun Bowl Stadium has an artificial-turf field.

-- Nickell Robey and Robert Woods are still waiting to receive their NFL draft evaluations. Woods is expected to make his decision in the next couple weeks and Robey said he would consider going pro only if he projects as a first- or second-round pick.

-- Receivers coach Tee Martin said he is "recruiting" and encouraging Woods to stay for his senior season. Martin also joked that he is "still losing Twitter followers" after he decision to stay at USC rather than take a job at Tennessee, his alma mater.

-- Matt Barkley attended practice today but is still recovering from his sprained shoulder and won't practice until at least Wednesday. Max Wittek and Cody Kessler continue to share practice time, but Wittek will play in the Sun Bowl if Barkley is unable to play.

USC can't clone Robert Woods, but the Trojans will attempt to replicate him as much as possible if Woods declares for the NFL Draft next month.

Woods, a junior, has yet to announce a decision but has received a draft evaluation from the NCAA. If he returns to USC, he will resume a potent All-America partnership with Marqise Lee. If Woods leaves, the task of replacing him might present a fantastic opportunity for George Farmer.

Now a sophomore, Farmer has yet to make an impact at USC. He has only one catch this season (in the season opener against Hawaii) and had only four catches as a freshman and dealt with injuries throughout.

USC retains high hopes for Farmer, a former five-star recruit, and the parallels with Woods are numerous. Both were standouts at Serra High in Gardena. Woods, who is one year older, is listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, while Farmer is listed at 6-1, 205 pounds.

In terms of body type and skill set, Farmer is a reasonable facsimile of Woods, and Coach Lane Kiffin has singled out Farmer as a player who has shown improvement during practices this month.